The magic of pie is this: one moment your kitchen counter is cluttered with a tin of flour, an empty pie plate, a couple sticks of butter and a pile of fruit.  In a couple hours, this rather boring assortment has become a sight to behold (not to mention taste).   Into that flour, you cut some very cold, best quality butter.  Add a pinch of salt, a stream of water and you have yourself the ragged beginnings of a pie dough.  It gets gathered up in a slip of plastic wrap, shaped into a compact disc and stashed in the fridge.

Next, you turn to that fruit.  If you’re like me, you only have eyes for apples right now—which is a very good thing when you’ve still got a half-peck of your apple orchard haul waiting to be put to work.  If you’re using apples, wield your peeler and wind it along the apples, leaving a curling red ribbon in your wake.

The peeled apples are next sliced, evenly and thinly.  Pause now and then to treat yourself to a slice; it’s best to keep up your energy.   It’s September and you’ve got a mountain of sliced apples before you, so you do the only reasonable thing: you add cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg.   Throw in a bit of flour too, to thicken up the juices the apples will give off in the oven.

Let’s review: you have pie dough chilling in the fridge; your hands are sticky; a mountain of cinnamon-scented apples sits before you.  Oh, life is good.

Next comes the part that always, always gives me trepidation.  Dust your counter top with a bit of flour, unwrap one round of pastry dough and start to roll it thin.  You’ll know almost immediately what kind of pie crust experience it will be—too wet and sticky; too dry and crumbly; or, thank heavens, perfectly supple and smooth.  If you fall in the first category, add flour and if you fall in the second category, add a small amount of very cold water, knead the dough a couple times and start over.  Whatever you do, remember that you are in charge here, buster.  If it helps, feel free to say things like: “Take that, you unhelpful pie dough.”  Add expletives as needed.  Once you’ve got a nice thin round rolled out, fit it into your pie plate and fill it with those apples.

You’re not going to like this, I know, but now you have to do it all over again with the other round of pie dough.  But, take heart!  There is pie dough crimping in your near future, which is all the inspiration you need, no?  Once that second round is rolled out, gently drape it over the apples, which are mounded up nice and high.  Trim any excess dough and begin to pinch the edges together.  (See here, for a visual.)

Next, lightly paint the pie lid with some egg yolk whisked with milk or cream.  Shower the lid with sanding sugar or sugar in the raw, cut slits in the dough to let steam escape while the pie bakes and slide the pie back into the fridge to firm up.

When the pie is chilled and the oven preheated, transfer the pie (on a baking sheet, to catch any runaway juices) into the oven, where a final magic will happen, rendering the pie dough a deep, shiny golden.   The bad news is that you have to let it cool.   I’m sorry about that, I am.  But while it cools it will send its homey fragrance throughout your home.  In the case of apple pie, you can’t find a more autumnal scent without jumping headfirst into a pile of leaves.

Once it’s cool, admire your handiwork.  Recall that you started out with a collection of mere pantry staples.  Now, you have a pie.  A gorgeous, flaky, fallish pie.  Cut yourself a slice and enjoy.

Classic Apple Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 recipe pie dough (below)
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 pounds assorted apples, such as Macoun, Granny Smith, cortland, Jonagold, or empire, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one pie dough disc into a 13-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. With a sharp paring knife, trim excess dough. Chill again until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Roll out remaining disc of pie dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and chill.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and heavy cream; set aside. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Remove pie shell from freezer, and fill with apple mixture. Dot with butter.

Cover the apples with the second pastry round, trimming any excess.  Pinch the edges of the bottom and top dough together to seal.   Crimp the edges.  Brush the top of the pie with the reserved egg wash and sprinkle generously with sanding sugar.  Using a sharp paring knife, cut three slits into the top of the pie.  Freeze or refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Place pie plate on a baking sheet, and bake until crust just begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes. If the crust begins to get too dark, drape a piece of aluminum foil over the top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Basic Pie Dough
Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons cold (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers (if necessary, add up to 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time). To help ensure a flaky crust, do not overprocess.

Transfer half of dough (still crumbly) onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk 3/4 inch thick; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days). Repeat with remaining dough. (Disks can be frozen, tightly wrapped, up to 3 months. Thaw before using.) Makes 2 disks.